A recessed fuel filler box is formed in an outer panel of a vehicle body around a filler opening and a fuel lid is coupled to the fuel filler box by a hinge so as to be able to open and close the fuel filler box. The fuel lid can be in a closed position for closing the fuel filler box and an open position for opening the fuel filler box. In the open position, refueling through the filler opening can be carried out. In the closed position, a surface of the fuel lid and a surface of the vehicle body form a continuous surface design to thereby improve appearance quality. In the closed position, a lock pin protruding from the vehicle body is intruded into a lock hole in a lock portion formed on a back face side of the fuel lid to be locked in a closed state.
However, in a simple bolt lock, when a wire or a plate-shaped member is inserted through a gap between a fuel lid and an outer panel of a vehicle body to push a tip end of a lock pin, the lock pin may come out of a lock hole to bring the fuel lid into an open state in some cases. Therefore, as proposed in Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2001-063388 or Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2002-240581, there is a fuel lid structure in which a periphery of a tip end of a lock pin protruding from a lock hole is shielded. In this way, it is possible to avoid the above-described problem to thereby prevent fuel theft.
On the other hand, as proposed in Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2007-210562, there is a fuel lid structure having a mechanism in which a fuel lid moves to an open side as a lock pin moves in a direction to release the lock. In this way, it is possible to open the fuel lid even when the fuel lid is frozen.